The Economic And Diplomatic Studies Of Laos After Liberation (1975-2014)

The liberation of the Lao people and nation in the year1975， and the end of“Cold War” ushered a new age for Lao economic diplomacy meant the new period ofLao economic diplomacy had started and developed. After peace and developmentbecame the main trend of the world replaced the Cold War dynamics， all nationsstarted paying attention to economic development and to improving people livingcondition. Therefore， the position and function of economic diplomacy in nation’sdiplomacy have been increased. Thank to a positive external environment the Partyand government of Laos have developed its national economy vigorously， in orderto speed up economic development. Moreover， the government fully utilizes theadvantages of external and internal factors in implementing the reform and open uppolicy deeply. It is worth to note that Economic diplomacy as an important dimensionof diplomacy has been implemented fully and fruitfully in Japan， United Stated ofAmerica， China， Vietnam and some other countries. Undoubtedly， economicdiplomacy has played an important role on economic development of those countries.Party and government of Laos were therefore highly attracted to the trend ofeconomic diplomacy. Consequently， the word “Economic Diplomacy” has beenofficially mentioned at the9thLao People Revolution Party Congress which was heldin March，2011. Therefore，Economic Diplomacy took a significant place in Laodiplomacy and it got the attention of diplomats， politicians， and economists.In fact， before the9thParty Congress， the economic diplomacy had beenimplemented with the establishment of Lao PDR. The post–war reconstructioncould not have been carried out without economic diplomacy，and even thougheconomic diplomacy was limited by internal and external factors， it helped Laos gain significant foreign aids. It is worth to mention that economic diplomacy playedan important role when implementing the reform and open up policy and allowing itto proceed smoothly. In return the implementing of reform and open up policy pushedforward economic diplomacy thus creating a virtuous cycle; it became a goodinteraction between reform and open up policy and economic diplomacy. In addition，Lao entering ASEAN in1997also helped economic diplomacy develop unprecedently,and joining the WTO means the future of Lao economic diplomacy is very bright.How to utilize the potential of economic diplomacy became the main concernof the Government. Laos as a “new learner” of economic diplomacy is a situationconsist of challenges and opportunities which constitute both on obstacle and a driverto the implementation of economic diplomacy. These challenges and opportunitiesbecome the main obstructions， at the same time it is also be the pushing factors ofimplementing economic diplomacy. In order to implement economic diplomacysmoothly and effectively， Lao Party and Government actively draw lessons andexperiences from China and Vietnam， and find the sort of economic diplomacywhich is suitable with Laos national conditions. Practically， Laos has been activelyjoining regional and international economic diplomacy mechanisms and isstrengthening its traditional relationships with China， Vietnam， and Thailand, andpaying more attention to implementing economic diplomacy with world importanteconomies such as Japan， Republic of Korea， and United State of America. On theother hand，the Lao government takes assistance diplomacy as an opportunity toenrich the meaning of economic diplomacy relations between Laos and Europeancountries. Currently， implementing in full aspects， different ways， and differentlevels become the main characteristic of Laos economic diplomacy. Several yearsafter its implementation economic diplomacy it became the main factor of economicand social development. Apart from introduction and conclusion， this thesis consist of five charters，the first chapter is about the Lao economic diplomacy when the Lao PDR was firstestablished (1975–1985). This chapter will analyze the internal and externalcircumstances impacting Laos’ foreign policy especially economic diplomacy.Besides， the characteristic of economic diplomacy， and the factors will bementioned and analyzed in the chapter. The challenges and opportunities of economicdiplomacy in this period will be the last part of this chapter. The second chapter isabout exploring the second period of Lao economic diplomacy (1986–1996). Thischapter mainly focuses on the main consequences of the end of cold war， thedisintegration of Soviet Union， and the positive impacts of implementation ofreform and open up policy to Lao economic diplomacy since1986to1996. Besides，this chapter will analyze and talk about the characteristic of the economic diplomacyin this period.The third chapter is about the important development of economic diplomacy(1997–2014).This part will discuss about the internal and external factors whichinfluenced Lao economic diplomacy in this period. Concededly， enriched foreignpolicy became the main factor in pushing forward Lao economic diplomacy. O n theother hand， the results， features， and difficulties in implementing economicdiplomacy will also be introduced in this chapter; the end of this chapter will be therecommendation on improving Lao economic diplomacy. The chapter four is aboutthe theory and principle of Lao economic diplomacy. Moreover, the trend of economicdiplomacy, and the Laos economic diplomacy mechanism will be discussed in thischapter. The sixth chapter is about the practices of Lao economic diplomacy. It mainlystudies the economic relations between Laos and several countries which have been agreat significance to Lao economic namely China， Vietnam， Thailand， Japan，Republic of Korea， United Stated of America， and some European countries as well as ASEAN， and WTO. Besides， joining ASEAN and WTO was the importantstep for Lao economic diplomacy to move forward steadily.The end of the thesis is the conclusion， which deals with the features, theresults, the impacts and the deficiencies of the Lao economic diplomacy. It will alsoinclude prediction for Lao economic diplomacy and recommendations and theconclusion of the study will be found on this part.